Nigeria: 2023 – Okupe Mocks APC, Describes Lagos Rally for Tinubu As Failed ‘Catch Up’

A rally was recently held in Lagos in support of the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.

The Director General of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Council, Doyin Okupe, has mocked the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over the recent rally held in support of its 2023 presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.

Mr Okupe, in an interview with Channels Television on Sunday, described the “five million-man” solidarity rally for Mr Tinubu in Lagos as a “catch up” not well done.

The rally, convened by the chairman of transport workers in the state, Musiliu Akinsanya, aka MC Oluomo, is considered as a reply to a series of rallies earlier held in support of the LP candidate, Peter Obi, in Lekki, FESTAC, Ikeja and Surulere.

While criticisms have continued to trail the rally which grounded activities in the state, Mr Okupe said the counter rally did not match the zeal of Nigerian youth fronting “the Obidient movement” across the country.

“One of the greatest things that has happened in this dispensation is that a four-month-old party is now so much in leadership that parties that have existed for 20 years and more are playing a catch-up game and it is not being done very well.

“I want to congratulate the APC for the efforts made today. What you saw was not a Lagos rally. We are a very sophisticated group, a group driven by and powered by youths,” Mr Okupe said.

Without evidence, the LP campaign DG claimed that people seen at Mr Tinubu’s rally were imported from other South-west states and should not be compared to the “organic” crowd that attended rallies held in support of Mr Obi.

“What you saw this morning was a South-west rally, not really a Lagos rally. If you give it as a Lagos rally, it is just a fair comparison with what happened in Festac.

“You will recall that the October 1, LP rally by Obidents took place in an unprecedented and organic manner in Lekki, Festac, Ikeja and Surulere — in four different locations.

“What you saw in Lagos today was nothing compared to any one of them (referring to the four locations), maybe at least it is at par with one of them. What APC has been able to do, having seen the LP movement, is still about a quarter of what we did,” he boasted.

Mr Okupe said he recognised about four or five people from his primary constituency in Ogun State in the video clips of the APC rally while others can recognise many more persons from Oyo, Osun, among others.

He also offered an explanation into the constant visits of Mr Obi to Nigerians in the Diaspora.

He unveiled a website for his campaign through a post on his official Twitter handle on Friday.

The LP campaign DG, in his explanation, said the reason behind Mr Obi’s visits to Nigerians in Diaspora is to “sell himself to some of the major stakeholders in our communities who have a lot of influence back home on the Nigerian communities,” and not to raise funds.

“I’m the director-general of the campaign. I’m also a Christian. I will not lie to you. He (Obi) went abroad about four or six weeks ago, we did not collect any money,” Mr Okupe said.

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